derek offord using russian a guide to contemporary usage 2005

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Using Russian

Using Russianis a guide to Russian usage for those who have alreadyacquired the basics of the language and wish to extend their

knowledge. Unlike conventional grammars, it gives special attention to

those areas of vocabulary and grammar which cause most difficulty to

English speakers, and focuses on questions of style and register whichare all too often ignored. Clear, readable and easy to consult, it will

prove invaluable to students seeking to improve their fluency and

confidence in Russian.

This second edition has been substantially revised and expanded to

incorporate fresh material and up-to-date information. Many of the

original sections have been rewritten, the passages illustrating register

are all fresh and one brand new chapter has been added, providing a

clear picture of Russian usage in the twenty-first century.

derek offordis Professor of Russian Intellectual History at the

University of Bristol, where he has served as Chairman of the School

of Modern Languages and Head of Department. His previous

publications includePortraits of Early Russian Liberals(1985),TheRussian Revolutionary Movement in the 1880s(1986) andModernRussian: An Advanced Grammar Course(1993), as well as numerousarticles and chapters on classical Russian literature and thought.

natalia gogolitsynais Language Assistant at the University of

Bristol. She has taught Russian as a second language at St PetersburgPedagogical University, and has been a visiting academic at the

University of Essex. Her previous publications includeProblems ofTranslation: Russian Words and Concepts with No Exact Equivalents inEnglish(1995) and various articles on culture-specific words andconcepts.


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Companion titles

Using French (third edition)A guide to contemporary usage

r. e. batchelorand m. h. offord

(ISBN 0 521 64177 2 hardback)(ISBN 0 521 64593 X paperback)

Using Spanish (second edition)A guide to contemporary usage

r. e. batchelorand c. j. pountain

(ISBN 0 521 00481 0 paperback)

Using German (second edition)A guide to contemporary usage

martin durrell


Using ItalianA guide to contemporary usage

j. j. kinde rand v. m. savini


Using JapaneseA guide to contemporary usage

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Using PortugueseA guide to contemporary usage

ana sofia ganhoand timothy mcgovern


Using ArabicA guide to contemporary usage

mahdi alosh


Using Spanish Synonymsr. e. batchelor



Using German Synonymsmartin durrell



Using Italian Synonymshoward mossand vanna motta



Using French Synonymsr. e. batchelorand m. h. offord



Using Russian Synonymsterence wadeand nijole white


Using French Vocabularyjean h. duffy



Using German Vocabularysarah fagan


Using Italian Vocabularymarcel danesi


Using Spanish Vocabularyr. e. batchelorand miguel a. san jose

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Using Russian

A guide to

contemporary usage

Second edition, revised and augmented

DEREK OFFORDUniversity of Bristol

NATALIA GOGOLITSYNAUniversity of Bristol


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Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, So Paulo

Cambridge University PressThe Edinburgh Building, Cambridge , UK

First published in print format

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Derek Offord and Natalia Gogolitsyna 2005

2005

Information on this title: www.cambridg e.org /9780521547611

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision ofrelevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take placewithout the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

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Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy ofsfor external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does notguarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

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Contents

Preface to the first edition xiii

Preface to the second edition xv

Acknowledgements xviii

Sources xix

Note on transcription, stress marks and transliteration xxii

Glossary of linguistic terms xxiii

List of abbreviations xxxiii

1 Varieties of language and register 1

1.1 The Russian language and its distribution 1

1.2 Varieties of language 6

1.3 Registers 9

1.3.1 The colloquial register (R1) 10

1.3.2 Demotic speech (D) 13

1.3.3 The neutral register (R2) 14

1.3.4 The higher register (R3) 15

1.3.5 Styles of belles-lettres ( ee

ea) 17

1.3.6 Language of the internet ( eea) 171.4 Illustration of register in vocabulary 18

1.5 Regional variation in Russian 19

1.5.1 Standard pronunciation 20

1.5.2 Classification of Russian dialects 21

1.5.3 Regional features 22

1.6 Current debate about standard Russian 25

2 Passages illustrating register 32

2.1 R1: from a TV show 322.2 R1: based on a conversation in a Russian internet chatroom 36

2.3 R2: magazine interview with a popular actor 40

2.4 R2: question-and-answer session with President Putin 43

2.5 R3a: academic style (modern historiography) 45

2.6 R3a: academic style (scientific writing) 47

2.7 R3b: official/business style (legal) 50

2.8 R3b: official/business style (commercial) 53

2.9 R3c: political journalism (reporting) 57

2.10 R3c: political journalism (comment) 60

2.11 Classical poetry 62

2.12 Literary prose 65

2.13 Language of the internet 68

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Contents

3 Problems of meaning: Russian words 73

3.1 Homonyms 73

3.1.1 Examples of homonyms 73

3.1.2 Homonyms with different plural forms 78

3.2 Homophones and homoforms 79

3.3 Homographs 81

3.4 Paronyms 82

3.5 Faux amis(e ) 873.6 Problems of number 91

3.6.1 Nouns with plural form only 91

3.6.2 Nouns with singular form only 92

3.7 Russian words difficult to render in English 93

4 Problems of translation from English into Russian 98

4.1 English words difficult to render in Russian 984.2 Translation of the verbto be 1504.3 Translation of English modal auxiliary verbs 154

4.4 Transitive and intransitive verbs 159

4.5 Translation of English forms ending in-ing 1604.6 Translation oftoo, also, as well 162

5 Vocabulary and idiom 163

5.1 Neologisms 163

5.1.1 Western loanwords in Russian 163

5.1.2 Recent loanwords from English 165

5.1.3 Neologisms derived from existing Russian words 166

5.1.4 Slang 169

5.1.5 Computing terminology 171

5.2 Transition words 176

5.3 Fillers 177

5.4 Modal particles 179

5.5 Interjections 188

5.6 Vulgar language 190

5.7 Idioms 1935.8 Proverbs and sayings ( ) 199

5.9 Similes 202

6 Language and everyday life 203

6.1 Measurement 203

6.1.1 Length, distance, height 203

6.1.2 Area 204

6.1.3 Weight 204

6.1.4 Volume 205

6.1.5 Russian pre-revolutionary units of measure 205

6.1.6 Speed 206

6.1.7 Temperature 206

6.2 Currency 207

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Contents

6.3 Fractions and presentation of numerals 207

6.4 Time 207

6.5 Telephone numbers 208

6.6 Postal addresses 208

6.7 Family relationships 209

6.8 Public notices 2096.9 Abbreviations of titles, weights, measures and

common expressions 211

6.10 Acronyms and alphabetisms 213

6.11 Names of countries and nationalities 216

6.11.1 Russia and the other states of the former

Soviet Union 216

6.11.2 Other regions and national minorities of Russia and the

former Soviet Union 217

6.11.3 Europe (Ea) 218

6.11.4 Africa (Aa) 2206.11.5 America (Aea) 221

6.11.6 Asia (A) 221

6.11.7 The Middle East ( B) 222

6.11.8 Australia and New Zealand 223

6.12 Words denoting inhabitants of Russian and former

Soviet cities 223

6.13 Jokes (ae) and puns (aa) 225

7 Verbal etiquette 2287.1 Introductory remarks 228

7.2 Use ofand 229

7.3 Personal names 230

7.3.1 First names (ea) 230

7.3.2 Patronymics (ea) 233

7.4 Attracting attention (eee a) 235

7.5 Introductions (a) 237

7.6 Greetings (ee) 239

7.7 Farewells (ae) 241

7.8 Congratulation (aee) 242

7.9 Wishing (eae) 242

7.10 Gratitude (aa) 244

7.11 Apologising (ee) 244

7.12 Request (a) 245

7.13 Invitation (aee) 247

7.14 Reassurance and condolence (eee, eae) 247

7.15 Compliments (e) 248

7.16 Telephone conversations (ee a) 248

7.17 Letter writing (eea) 250

8 Word-formation 252

8.1 Principles of word-formation 252

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Contents

8.2 Types of consonant, spelling rules and consonant changes 253

8.2.1 Hard and soft consonants 253

8.2.2 Use of the hard sign 253

8.2.3 Devoicing of consonants 254

8.2.4 Spelling rules 254

8.2.5 Consonant changes 2558.2.6 Epenthetic 255

8.3 Verbal prefixes 255

8.4 Noun prefixes 263

8.5 Adjectival prefixes 264

8.6 The verbal infixes -a-/-a- 265

8.7 Noun suffixes 266

8.7.1 The principal noun suffixes 266

8.7.2 Noun suffixes denoting females 274

8.7.3 Miscellaneous noun suffixes 276

8.8 Diminutive, augmentative and expressive suffixes 2778.8.1 Diminutive and hypocoristic suffixes 277

8.8.2 Double diminutive suffixes 279

8.8.3 The augmentative suffix -e/-a 279

8.8.4 Pejorative suffixes 279

8.9 The principal adjectival suffixes 280

8.10 Suffixes of participial origin 284

8.11 The verbal suffixes -aand -a 285

8.12 Composition 286

8.12.1 Compound nouns 2868.12.2 Compound adjectives 287

9 Inflection 288

9.1 Declension of the noun 288

9.1.1 Gender 288

9.1.2 Basic declensional patterns of the noun 289

9.1.3 Mobile vowels 291

9.1.4 Genitive singular forms in -/- 291

9.1.5 Locative singular forms in -y/- 2929.1.6 Masculine nouns with nominative plural in -a/- 294

9.1.7 Irregularities in the genitive plural of nouns 296

9.1.8 Irregularities in dative/instrumental/prepositional

plural forms 299

9.1.9 Nouns which are irregular throughout the plural 299

9.1.10 Nouns with irregular declension throughout 301

9.1.11 Declension of surnames 303

9.1.12 Indeclinable nouns 304

9.2 Declension of pronouns 305

9.3 Adjectival forms 307

9.3.1 Declension of adjectives 307

9.3.2 Formation of short adjectives 309

9.3.3 Formation of short comparatives 310

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Contents

9.4 Formation of adverbs 312

9.5 Declension of numerals 313

9.6 Verb forms 315

9.6.1 The system of conjugation 315

9.6.2 1A verbs 316

9.6.3 1B verbs with vowel stems and unstressed endings 3169.6.4 1B verbs with stems inand p and unstressed endings 316

9.6.5 1B verbs with vowel stems and stressed endings 317

9.6.6 1B verbs with consonant stems and unstressed endings 317

9.6.7 1B verbs with consonant stems and stressed endings 319

9.6.8 Second-conjugation verbs 322

9.6.9 Irregular verbs 324

9.6.10 Formation of the past tense 325

9.6.11 Formation of the imperative 326

9.7 Formation of gerunds and participles 328

9.7.1 Formation of imperfective gerunds 3289.7.2 Formation of perfective gerunds 328

9.7.3 Formation of present active participles 329

9.7.4 Formation of past active participles 329

9.7.5 Formation of present passive participles 330

9.7.6 Formation of past passive participles 330

10 Prepositions 333

10.1 Valency of prepositions 333

10.1.1 Prepositions followed by apparent nominative forms 33310.1.2 Prepositions governing the accusative 334

10.1.3 Prepositions governing the genitive 337

10.1.4 Prepositions governing the dative 343

10.1.5 Prepositions governing the instrumental 345

10.1.6 Prepositions governing the prepositional or locative 346

10.2 Prepositional phrases based on nouns 350

10.3 Verbs followed by prepositions 350

10.3.1 Verbs followed by prepositions governing

the accusative 350

10.3.2 Verbs followed by prepositions governing the genitive 351

10.3.3 Verbs followed by prepositions governing the dative 352


the instrumental 352


the prepositional 353

10.4 Rendering of English prepositions in Russian 354

11 Syntax 377

11.1 Use of the cases 377

11.1.1 Use of the nominative 377

11.1.2 Use of the accusative 377

11.1.3 Use of case to denote animate direct object 378

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Contents

11.1.4 Basic uses of the genitive 380

11.1.5 Verbs governing the genitive 381

11.1.6 Case of direct object after a negated verb 382

11.1.7 Basic uses of the dative 384

11.1.8 Verbs governing the dative 386

11.1.9 Basic uses of the instrumental 38811.1.10 Verbs governing the instrumental 388

11.1.11 Use of the prepositional 391

11.2 Use of pronouns 391

11.2.1 Use ofas a relative pronoun 391

11.2.2 Use ofaandas interrogative pronouns 392

11.2.3 Use of negative pronouns (, etc.) 392

11.2.4 Use ofe, etc. 393

11.2.5 Use of the particles -, -, - 393

11.2.6 Use of 394

11.3 Use of short adjectives 39511.4 Use of numerals 398

11.4.1 Use of 398

11.4.2 Use of numerals higher thanonein nominative/accusative 398

11.4.3 Use of numerals in oblique cases 399

11.4.4 Use of numerals with animate direct object 399

11.4.5 Use of collective numerals 400

11.4.6 Approximation 401

11.4.7 Agreement of predicate with a subject containing acardinal numeral 401

11.4.8 Translation ofyearsandpeopleafter numerals 40211.4.9 Distributive expressions 402

11.4.10 Time 403

11.4.11 Dates 404

11.4.12 Distance 404

11.4.13 Nouns expressing number 405

11.5 Use of aspects 405

11.5.1 Basic distinction between the aspects 405

11.5.2 Effect of adverbial modifiers 40611.5.3 Use of aspect in the indicative 406

11.5.4 Use of aspect in the infinitive 408

11.5.5 Use of aspect in negative constructions 409

11.5.6 Use of aspect in the imperative 410

11.6 Problems in choice of tense 411

11.7 Use of verbs of motion 412

11.8 Use of reflexive verbs 413

11.9 The conditional mood 415

11.10 The subjunctive mood 416

11.11 Use of gerunds and participles 418

11.11.1 Use of gerunds 418

11.11.2 Use of active participles 419

11.11.3 Use of present passive participles 419

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Contents

11.11.4 Use of past passive participles 419

11.12 Conjunctions 420

11.12.1 Coordinating conjunctions 420

11.12.2 Subordinating conjunctions 422

11.12.3 Subordinating conjunctions used in R1 or R3 423

11.13 Syntactic features of colloquial speech 42411.14 Word order 425

11.15 Punctuation 428

11.16 Use of capital letters 432

12 Stress 433

12.1 Introductory remarks 433

12.2 Stress in nouns 433

12.2.1 Masculine nouns 434

12.2.2 Feminine nouns 43812.2.3 Neuternouns 440

12.2.4 Irregular stress in certain prepositional singular forms 442

12.2.5 Prepositions that attract stress in certain phrases 443

12.3 Stress in adjectives 443

12.4 Stress in verbs 444

12.4.1 Stress in first-conjugation verbs 444

12.4.2 Stress in second-conjugation verbs 445

12.4.3 Stress in past-tense forms 447

12.4.4 Stress in gerunds and participles 449

12.4.5 Miscellaneous points 45212.5 Variation in stress 452

Index of Russian words, phrases and affixes 455

General index 487

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Preface to the first edition

This book, like the volumes already published in the series on

contemporary usage in French, German and Spanish, is aimed at the

advanced learner who has studied the basic grammar of the language

and is now striving for a more comprehensive and sophisticated

knowledge. To this end the book includes much material on register,

vocabulary, verbal etiquette and word-formation, as well as material on

the subjects of morphology, prepositions and syntax with which the

post-A-level student should already have some familiarity. The book is

not conceived as a comprehensive grammar, although the main

grammatical topics that trouble the English-speaking student are quitefully covered in the later chapters. The approach adopted is not

prescriptive. That is to say an attempt is made to show the range of

linguistic phenomena that might be encountered in modern Russian

and to define the limits within which they are used rather than to lay

down rules for usage.

While offering, it is hoped, a multi-faceted view of the modern

language, two purposes are kept in mind throughout the book.

Firstly, it is intended to demonstrate that Russian, like any other

modern language with which the student may be familiar, is not astable, uniform abstraction that is applied inflexibly in all situations. As

a living language spoken by millions of individuals of different ages

from different backgrounds and in different situations, Russian exists in

many varieties. Words, forms and constructions which are appropriate

in one context may be quite out of place in another. Even apparently

hard-and-fast grammatical rules may be relaxed, to the frustration of

the foreign student who has laboriously mastered them. Chapter1

therefore aims to make the student aware of the existence of variety in

the Russian language, and this variety is borne in mind and examples

of it indicated in all the chapters that follow.Secondly, the book attempts to address problems that the

English-speaking student of Russian may find especially taxing.

Russian operates, of course, according to quite different grammatical

principles from those to which the English-speaker is accustomed.

(One thinks in particular of its system of declension of nouns,

pronouns, adjectives, numerals and participles and of the aspectual

distinction that runs through the Russian verbal system.) Moreover, in

the field of vocabulary correspondences between Russian and English

words are often limited or inexact and similarities can be misleading.

Again, in certain situations Russians simply do not express themselves

in the same way as English-speakers in a similar situation, or at least a

direct translation of what an English-speaker would say in that situation

would seem to a Russian to some degree unnatural. Much attention is

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Preface to the first edition

therefore devoted in this book to problems of non-equivalence in the

two languages in vocabulary, phraseology and verbal etiquette as well as

grammar.

Beyond these purposes it is also hoped that the book, through its

broad approach, will increase the students general awareness of the

structure and resources of the Russian language, and that his or herunderstanding and appreciation of the immense vitality and depth of

experience of the Russian people may thus in some small way be

enhanced.

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Preface to the second edition

This new edition ofUsing Russian: a Guide to Contemporary Usagerepresents an extensively revised and augmented version of the first

edition, which was published in 1996. Whereas the first edition

consisted of ten chapters the current edition has twelve and is some

ninety pages longer than the first. Our thanks are due to Cambridge

University Press for allowing this enlargement.

Some material in the first edition that is now out-of-date or that is

for some other reason of less interest than it was in 1996 (for example,

neologisms associated with the period ofgl asnost andperestr oika) has

been excised or reduced. On the other hand, much fresh material hasbeen incorporated, especially in the first five chapters and the last

chapter. The main changes that have been made are as follows.

Chapter1is based on sections 15 inclusive of the first chapter of

the first edition but the material has been substantially rewritten and

considerably expanded. Section1.1,on the distribution of the Russian

language, has been revised in the light of information in the most

recent Russian census (2002). Section1.2,on varieties of language, has

been slightly expanded to include material on the distinction drawn,

for example by David Crystal, between written and spoken language.Section1.3,on registers in contemporary Russian, contains some fresh

examples of usage and a new section (1.3.6)on the language of the

internet (a subject to which this new edition as a whole pays much

attention). Section1.4,which is also new, briefly illustrates differences

in register as reflected in vocabulary by taking about two dozen

common words and identifying some of their equivalents in low and

high registers. A further new section (1.6), on current debate about

standard Russian, deals with concerns about the lowering of the

standard that have arisen as a result of the perceived linguistic

permissiveness that has accompanied the political, economic and socialtransformation of Russia over the last ten years.

The seven passages that were used to illustrate register in the first

edition (located at1.6in that edition) have all been excised as now

somewhat stale and have been replaced by thirteen fresh passages.

Colloquial speech, the neutral register, the scientific/academic style,

the official/business style, the style of journalism and political debate,

and the language of imaginative literature are all illustrated in the new

edition by two passages each. There is also a passage that illustrates and

explicitly discusses the style of email. This latter passage, taken together

with one of the passages exemplifying colloquial language on the basis

of conversation in an internet chatroom, gives insight into the new

register of Netspeak. The thirteen passages illustrating register, and the

translations of and commentaries on them, now take up the whole of

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Chapter2,from which it is hoped a broad view of the range of register

available in contemporary Russian will emerge.

Additions have also been made to the two chapters (Chapters3

and4of the new edition) that deal with problems of meaning and

translation (one on Russian words and one on English words). In

Chapter3,for example, a few new entries have been inserted in eachof the sections on homonyms (3.1), paronyms (3.4)andfaux amis(3.5)and a new section (3.7)has been included on Russian words that are

difficult to render in English because of their cultural specificity. In4.1

some new entries have been added and some further possible

translations have been provided in entries that were already included in

this section in the first edition.

In the chapter on vocabulary and idiom (now Chapter5)the first

section, on neologisms, has been rewritten in order to take account of

the recent expansion of Russian lexis by means of the adoption of

loanwords, the extension of the use of colloquial words and theelevation of demotic words to the level of everyday colloquial speech.

This section now includes sub-sections on slang (5.1.4)and on the

new vocabulary associated with computing (5.1.5). The last three

sections of Chapter5(5.75.9)have also been slightly expanded and

contain more extensive literal translation of, and fuller comment on,

the idioms, proverbs and similes that they present than the equivalent

sections in the first edition.

In what is now Chapter6,section6.8,on the language of public

notices, and section6.10,on acronyms and alphabetisms, have beenslightly expanded to reflect contemporary practice. We have also

appended a short section on the popular Russian conversational genre

of the joke, or anecdote, to the end of this chapter (6.13).

The last four chapters of the first edition (Chapters811inclusive in

this second edition) have required much less substantial revision than

the earlier chapters, because they concern morphology and syntax,

which have been relatively little affected by innovation over the eight

years that have elapsed since the publication of the first edition. No

significant cuts have been made to these chapters, because we feel that

it remains useful for advanced learners to have at hand a fairlyexhaustive compendium of information on grammar alongside the

material on those aspects of language (register and vocabulary) that are

subject to greater and more rapid change.

Finally, a new chapter has been included on stress (Chapter12), on

the grounds that it is important for the advanced learner to master

Russian stress patterns, which are complex, and that study of them has

been relatively neglected in English-language books on Russian. In

keeping with the spirit of the series this new chapter devotes some

attention to variation in usage.

All the material from the first edition which remains substantially

unchanged in this second edition has been reviewed. Mistakes and

flaws identified in the first edition have been corrected and further

xvi
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minor alterations have been made with respect to both content and

presentation.

Our revision of the first edition has been informed by recent

literature on debate about the standard in English and on the impact of

the internet on the English language as well as by new work on the

Russian language. We have also been able to make use of onlineresources on the Russian language that were not available when the

first edition was being prepared. The new sources that we have

consulted are included in the revised list of sources that appears on

pp. xixxxi.

Cross-referencing and the two indexes (a list of the Russian words

and affixes to which the book refers and an index of topics covered)

have of course been revised to take account of all the changes made.

DO, NG

Bristol, July 2004

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Acknowledgements

Every effort has been made to secure necessary permissions to

reproduce copyright material in this work, though in some cases it has

proved impossible to trace or contact copyright holders. If any

omissions are brought to our notice, we will be happy to include

appropriate acknowledgements on reprinting, and in any subsequent

edition.We thank Penguin Books for permission to reproduce the English

translation of an extract from Pushkins poem that is given in

section 2.11.

We also warmly thank the following: Tatiana Dimoglo, for materialon neologisms and orthography and for general linguistic advice; Elena

Gogolitsyna, for material and advice on contemporary slang and

computing terminology; Yurii Gogolitsyn for his invaluable technical

assistance; John Steeds, FRS, for his help with translation of the

passage on physics reproduced at 2.5; Helen Barton of Cambridge

University Press for her guidance and for her prompt and patient

responses to all our queries; Kay McKechnie for her careful reading of

the typescript and the many improvements that she introduced at the

copy-editing stage; and Alison Powell of Cambridge University Pressfor overseeing production of the book. For any mistakes,

misapprehensions and imperfections of presentation that might remain

in spite of the best efforts of all who have helped us in various ways we

ourselves accept sole responsibility.

DO, NG,

Bristol, August 2004

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Sources

Reference works

Avanesov, R. I., ed., Oueu a a,P, Moscow, 1985

Borras, F. M., and R. F. Christian, Russian Syntax, 2nd edn, Clarendon Press,Oxford, 1979

Chernyshev, V. I., et al., eds., Ca ee uea a,Aae a CCCP, 17 vols., Moscow,195065

Comrie, Bernard, Gerald Stone and Maria Polinsky,The Russian Language in

the Twentieth Century, 2nd edn, revised and expanded, ofThe RussianLanguage since the Revolution, by Bernard Comrie and Gerald Stone,Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1996

Evgeneva, A. P.,Ca uu a,Haa, 2 vols.,Leningrad, 19701

ForbesRussian Grammar, 3rd edn, revised and enlarged by J. C. Dumbreck,Oxford University Press, 1964

Galperin, I. R., ed.,New EnglishRussian Dictionary, 2 vols., SovietEncyclopaedia Publishing House, Moscow, 1972

The Oxford Russian Dictionary(RussianEnglish, EnglishRussian), revised and

updated by Colin Howlett, Oxford University Press, Oxford and NewYork, 1993

Ozhegov, S. I.,Ca a, 20th edn,P ,Moscow, 1988

Pulkina, I. M.,A Short Russian Reference Grammar, translated from the Russianby V. Korotky, 7th edn, P , Moscow, 1984

Ryazanova-Clarke, Larissa, and Terence Wade, The Russian Language Today,Routledge, London and New York, 1999

Unbegaun, B. O.,Russian Grammar, Oxford University Press, 1957Vinogradov, V. V., et al., aaua a,Aae a

CCCP, 2 vols. in 3 books, Moscow, 1960

Vlasto, A. P.,A Linguistic History of Russia to the End of the Eighteenth Century,Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1988

Wade, Terence,A Comprehensive Russian Grammar, 2nd edn, revised andexpanded, ed. Michael J. de Holman, Blackwell, Oxford, and Malden,

Mass., 2000

Wade, Terence, and Nijole White,Using Russian Synonyms, CambridgeUniversity Press, 2003

Ward, Dennis,The Russian Language Today: System and Anomaly, HutchinsonUniversity Library, London, 1965

Wheeler, Marcus,The Oxford RussianEnglish Dictionary, 2nd edn, Clarendon

Press, Oxford, 1990

We have also made use, especially in Chapters 911, of material from Derek

Offord,Modern Russian: an Advanced Grammar Course, Bristol Classical Pressand Duckworth, London, 1993.

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Sources

Specific references

Many sections in this book (indicated by the references in brackets after the

titles below) draw on the works on particular areas of vocabulary or grammar

in the following list or relate to areas more fully dealt with in those works.

Akulenko, V. V., ed.,A-u u -auu ae eeua,Cea e, Moscow, 1969 (3.5)

Avanesov, R. I., and V. G. Orlova, eds.,Pa uaeu, 2nd edn,Haa, Moscow, 1965 (1.5)

Bex, Tony, and Richard J. Watts, Standard English: the Widening Debate,Routledge, London and New York, 1999 (1.6)

Bivon, R.,Element Order, Cambridge University Press, 1971 (11.14)Bratus, B. V., The Formation and Expressive Use of Diminutives, Cambridge

University Press, 1969(8.8)

Cooper, Brian, Problems with the in-laws: the terminology of Russian family

relationships,Journal of Russian Studies, no. 52 (1987), pp. 3745 (6.7)Crystal, David,Language and the Internet, Cambridge University Press, 2001

(1.3.6)

Davison, R. M.,The Use of the Genitive in Negative Constructions, CambridgeUniversity Press, 1967(11.1.6)

Flegon, A., a neeau u ae, Flegon Press, London, 1973(5.6)

Fomina, M. I.,Cee u :euu, 3rd edn,Ba a, Moscow, 1990 (3.1.13.4)

Foote, I. M.,Verbs of Motion, Cambridge University Press, 1967 (11.7)Formanovskaia, N. I., neeue ee uea,P

, Moscow, 1982 (7.17.2,7.47.16)Forsyth, James,A Grammar of Aspect: Usage and Meaning in the Russian Verb,

Cambridge University Press, 1970 (11.5)

Gogolitsyna, N., BYT: a Russian word study, Rusistika, no. 17 (March1998), pp. 36 (3.7)

Gogolitsyna, N., New developments in Russian vocabulary,Rusistika, no. 12(December 1995), pp. 323 (5.1)

Gogolitsyna, N., The Russian Intelligentsia,Rusistika, no. 25 (spring 2002),pp. 1422(3.7)

Gogolitsyna, N., Svoboda and Volya: Russian words and concepts,Rusistika,

no. 19 (March 1999), pp. 225 (3.7)Harrison, W.,The Expression of the Passive Voice, Cambridge University Press,

1967 (11.8,11.11.4)

Ivanova, Tatiana, a e,eaa aea, no. 16 (April 2003) (1.6)

Khlebtsova, Olga, a ,eaa aea, no. 11(March 2003) (1.6)

Klimenko, A.,e ae a a .O, Diasoft, Moscow, St Petersburg and Kiev, 2003 (5.1.5)

Kuzmin, S. S., and N. L. Shchadrin,Pau a uu n,P , Moscow, 1989 (5.75.8)

Maksimov, V. I., et al., Ca neeu, a, St Petersburg,1992 (5.1)

Mustajoki, Arto,ae neu u uaeee, Slavica Helsingiensa, 2, Helsinki, 1985 (11.1.6)

xx
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Note on transcription, stress marksand transliteration

Where it has been necessary to indicate precisely how a Russian word

is pronounced (e.g. in the sections on regional variation in1.5)

a standard system of phonetic transcription has been used, according to

which the Cyrillic consonants have the following values:

b v g d z z j k l m n p r s t f x c c s ss

The symbol placed after a letter indicates that the preceding

consonant is soft, e.g.les(e). Since most consonants, when theyprecede the vowels represented by the Russian letterse, , , and,are soft, these letters will in effect be transcribed, within this phonetic

system, as e, o, i, u, arespectively, e.g. iula(). The symbol

may also indicate the presence of a soft sign in the Russian word, e.g.

noc ().Stress is indicated in this book by the use of an acute accent over the

stressed vowel, e.g. ea. In words which may be stressed in different

places by different speakers an acute accent is placed over both the

vowels that may bear the stress, e.g. a. The secondary stress (seeGlossary) that may occur in some words, especially compound nouns

or adjectives, is marked by a grave accent.

The system of transliteration used to render Russian names (e.g.

Petia, i.e.e), place names and other Russian words in Roman scriptis that used inThe Slavonic and East European Review. In this book stresshas been marked in these transliterated forms (e.g.P ushkin, perestr oika),as well as in Cyrillic forms (, eea) unless the Cyrillic

form, with stress indicated, is adjacent to the transliterated form.

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Glossary of linguistic terms

Besides providing explanation of terms used in this book, the

following glossary should aid understanding of the linguistic concepts

required for advanced study of Russian. It will in any case be found

that many educated Russians have a high degree of awareness of the

grammar of their language and that in talking about it they will use

some of the terms defined here. Numbers in brackets refer to the

section(s) in this book that deal(s) with the phenomenon in question.

accusative case(e ae): the case in which the direct

object of a transitive verb is expressed, e.g. Oa ae,Olga is readinga book(9.1.2,10.1.2,10.3.1,11.1.2).

acronym(a aeaa): word made up of the initial

letters of other words, e.g.laser(lightamplification by thestimulatedemission of radiation)(6.10).

active voice(ee a): construction in which the

subject of the verb itself performs the action, e.g.The boy strokedthecat; cf.passive voice.

adjective( aaee): word that qualifies a noun, e.g.a red

pen.adverb(aee): word modifying the meaning of a verb, adjective oradverb, e.g.Peter walks slowly, quitebig,veryquickly(9.4,11.14(c)).

adversative conjunction(e ): conjunction

expressing contrast, e.g.but.

affix(a): an element added to a root or stem to modify its

meaning or use, e.g.unwilling, wonderful.Prefixes, infixesandsuffixes(q.v.) are all types of affix.

affricate(aaa): consonant sound beginning as aplosive(q.v.)

and passing into the correspondingfricative(q.v.), e.g. the initial

and final sounds inchurch, i.e.t+ s. Standard Russian has twoaffricates, c() andc().

akane(aae): loss of distinction between the phonemesaandointhe pretonic syllable of a word (i.e. the syllable preceding the stress),

e.g.Maskv a(Ma; see1.5.1).Aaeis a feature ofpronunciation of Muscovite Russian, other C dialects and the S

regional dialect.

alphabetism(ea aeaa): word consisting of initial

capital letters of other words, e.g.OOH(OaaOe Ha,United Nations Organisation)(6.10).

animacy(e): grammatical category embracing nouns

that denote living things; in Russian, inflection of the accusative

singular of most masculine nouns and of the accusative plural of

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nouns of all genders is determined by whether they are classified as

animate or inanimate (see11.1.3).

attributive adjective(ae aaee): a descriptive

adjective which qualifies a noun or noun-equivalent directly, e.g.thenewcar(9.3.1); cf.predicative adjective.

biaspectual verb( a): verb in which one form mayfunction as either imperfective or perfective, e.g.ee,a.

buffer vowel(ee ): vowel added for the sake of euphony in

certain situations to some Russian prepositions and prefixes which

end in a consonant, e.g. ae, ee, .calque(aa): aloan translation, i.e. a compound word or phrase

that is a literal translation of a foreign expression, e.g. Engmotorway

from GerAutobahn; e,influence.cardinal numeral(eee ee): numeral

expressinghow many, e.g.five(9.5,11.4); cf.ordinal numeral.

case(ae): morphological variant of a noun, pronoun, adjective,numeral or participle which expresses the relation of that word to

other words in the clause.

clause(eee): word group containing a subject and predicate,

e.g.I shall do it[main/principal clause]as soon as I can[subordinate

clause]. (An overt subject, however, is not always present, e.g. in the

imperative Do it!) See alsomain clause,subordinate clause.

cognates(ee/ee a): words that are

etymologically related or derived from the same root, e.g. Eng

mother, Frmere, GerMutter, Russa, Spmadre; or, withinRussian,a,a,aa,a, ae, etc.colloquial(a): informal or familiar style, expression or

form widely used in everyday speech (1.3.1).

complement(ee): word or group of words that completes

the meaning of an utterance, esp a noun or noun phrase that directly

defines the subject, e.g.She isa teacher(11.1.10);see alsoobject.conditional mood(e aee): verbal form expressing

condition or hypothesis, e.g.if itrains; if itwere to rain(11.9).conjugation(ee): system of verb inflections expressing tense,

mood, voice, person and number.conjunction(): word used to connect words, groups of words or

sentences, indicating the relationship of the connected elements,

e.g.dogsandcats(coordinating conjunction);I had supperaftertheyhad gone(subordinating temporal conjunction);I like curry althoughits hot(subordinating concessive conjunction);She drank some waterbecauseshe was thirsty(subordinating causal conjunction)(11.12.111.12.3).

consonant(a): any speech sound other than a vowel, i.e.

sound produced by some obstruction of the airstream (see also

affricate, fricative, plosive); also any letter representing such a

sound.

coordinating conjunction(e ): a conjunction

connecting two words, groups of words or sentences and indicating

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gerund(eeae): in Russian, verb form invariable in gender,

case and number which may be derived from verbs of either aspect

and which defines the relationship in time of one action to another

action denoted by the main verb of the sentence, e.g.Oaa,aeae,She strolled, humminga tune(imperfective

gerund denoting simultaneous action);ea, a ea,Having checkedhis work, he closed the exercise-book(perfective gerund denoting prior action) (9.7.19.7.2,11.11.1).

government(aee): way in which a word controls the form of

another word, e.g. the verbgoverns an object in the

instrumental case; the prepositiongoverns a noun or

noun-equivalent in the genitive case.

grammar(aaa): rules of morphology and syntax of a

language.

hard sign( a): the letter, as in e.g.aea, the

function of which is explained at8.2.2.homoform(a): a word identical with another word only

when it is in one of the several morphological forms that it may

adopt, e.g.e(3.2).homograph(a): a word written in the same way as another

word but pronounced in a different way and having different

meaning, e.g., i.e. and(3.3).homonym(): a word having the same sound as another word

and written in the same way, but having a different meaning and

possibly a different origin, e.g.bank(side of river and financialinstitution) (3.1.13.1.2).

homophone(): a word which sounds the same as another

word but is written differently, e.g.bare/bear, right/write(3.2).

iakane(ae): pronunciation of eas aafter a soft consonant in thepretonic syllable. Instrong(e) ae, pretonic areplaces eirrespective of the quality of the vowel in the stressed syllable, e.g.

nasla(ea),s al om(e),n asu(e),taper (ee). Inmoderate(eee)ae, pretonic areplaces eonly beforehard consonants, e.g.n asl a(ea),s al om(e),n asu(e), but

t

eper

(ee) wherepis soft.idiom(a): expression peculiar to a language, group of words

with a single meaning which cannot readily be derived from the

meanings of the individual component words, e.g. Engto spill the

beans, RussBa a/ e a,Its still up in the air(5.7).ikane(ae): pronunciation of the vowels eand ain the pretonic

syllable after a soft consonant as i, e.g.ditej(ee),n isl a(ea),tiper (ee),vz il a(a),rid(),tinu().

imperative mood(eee aee): verbal mood

expressing command, invitation, suggestion, entreaty, request, etc.,

e.g.come in, sit down(6.8,9.6.11,11.5.6).

imperfective aspect(eee ): describes an action

without reference to its extent and thus presents it as incomplete,

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e.g. Oaea,Shewas singing/used to sing(11.5); cf.perfectiveaspect.

indicative mood(ee aee): mood which affirms

or denies that the action or state denoted by the verb in question is

an actual fact, e.g.Iread, shewent, theywere sitting, the sun was not

shining.indirect object(ee ee): a noun, pronoun or phrase

denoting an object indirectly affected by an action, e.g.He gave thebook[direct object]to his sister[indirect object]. See alsodativecase.

indirect speech(also called reported speech; ea e):

discourse in which the substance of sbs words or thoughts is related

without being quoted verbatim, e.g.He told methat he would do it,She saidshe was twenty(11.6).

infinitive(): verb form expressing the idea of an

action without reference to person or number, e.g.to speak,.

infix(): element inserted in the middle of a word to modify its

meaning or use, e.g.aa(8.6); English, unlike Russian, hasno infixes.

inflection(alsoflexion; ae): the grammatical ending that

expresses relations of case, tense, number, gender, etc. in nouns,

pronouns, adjectives, numerals, verbs and participles, e.g.aa,ee, , , a, a.

instrumental case(e ae): the case denoting theagentbywhich or the instrumentwithwhich sth is done, e.g.

a ,the treaty signedby him, aaaa,to writewith a pencil(9.1.2,9.1.8,10.1.5,10.3.4,11.1.911.1.10).

interjection(eee): an exclamatory word, invariable in form,

which is thrown into an utterance to express emotion, e.g.oh!,ox!

(5.5).

intransitive verb(eee a): a verb that does not require

a direct object, e.g.The sunrises,A crowdgathered(4.4,11.8).

isogloss(a): a line separating one region from another whichdiffers from it in a feature of dialect. The isogloss may indicate e.g.

the limits of distribution of a certain word or the boundary beyond

which one phenomenon (e.g.ae) is replaced by another

(aae).

lexical(ee): relating to vocabulary (as opposed to grammar).

locative case(e ae): the case which indicates location of

an object; used after the prepositionsanda(9.1.2,9.1.5,10.1.6,

10.3.5,11.1.11); see alsoprepositional case.

long form(of adjective; a a): full form that must be used

when a Russian adjective is attributive, e.g.,a,ee,e, etc. (9.3.1); cf.short form, which may be used when theadjective is predicative.

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main clause(ae eee): a clause which can stand

independently, e.g.I went home[main clause]after I had spoken toyou[subordinate clause, q.v.].

mobile vowel(e a): one of the vowelso,orewhen(a) they precede the final consonant of a masculine noun in its

nominative singular form but disappear once an inflection is added,e.g.(a, etc.; see9.1.3), or (b) are inserted in certain types of

feminine or neuter noun which in the genitive plural have azero

ending(q.v.), e.g. a (), ee(ee; see

9.1.7).

modal particle(aa aa): ashort indeclinable word

which emphasises, intensifies or in some other way expresses the

speakers emotion or attitude, e.g.e,e(5.4).modal verb(a a): verb (e.g. Engcan,could,may;

Russ) expressing possibility, permissibility, obligation, etc., and

followed by another verb which it modifies (4.3).monosyllable(e ): word comprising one syllable,

e.g.cat,word.

mood(aee): form of the verb that indicates how the speaker

views an action or state, i.e. whether it is seen as matter-of-fact,

desirable, contingent on sth else, etc. See alsoconditional,

imperative, indicative,subjunctive.

morphology(): study of the forms of words.

Inflectional morphology(seeinflection) relates to the

declension of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, numerals and participlesand conjugation of verbs (see Chapter9).Lexical(q.v.)

morphologyrelates to word-formation(q.v.; see Chapter8).

neologism(e): a new word or phrase (e.g.a,ee),or the use of an old word in a new sense (e.g.e)(5.1).

nominative case(ee ae): the case in which the

subject is expressed, e.g. Oa ae ,Olgais reading a book(9.1.2,10.1.1,11.1.1).

number(): the grammatical property of a word which indicates

whether it is singular, dual (q.v.) or plural. The difference between

car/cars, mouse/mice, I am/we areis in each instance a difference ofnumber.

numeral(ee): a word denoting number, e.g.two,five; see

alsocardinal numeralandordinal numeral.

object(ee): seedirect objectand indirect object.

oblique case(e ae): any case other than the nominative

(and in other Slavonic languages, vocative), i.e. in Russian

accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental, prepositional. In this book

the term is used to embrace the last four of these cases, but not

generally the accusative.

okane(ae): the phonemeopreserves its value in the pretonicsyllable, e.g.sov a(a); cf.akaneabove. Infull(e)aeoretains its value even in the syllable before the pretonic syllable, e.g.

molod oj(). Inincomplete(ee)ae,oin the

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syllable preceding the pretonic syllable is reduced to , e.g.mloko() (1.5).

Old Church Slavonic(eoa ): the South Slav

language that was used by the early Slav missionaries, in the ninth

and tenth centuries, for the transmission of Christian teaching to

other Slav peoples; the basis of the language used in Russia forliturgical purposes and most literary forms before westernisation in

the eighteenth century.

ordinal numeral(e ee): numeral indicating

place in order or sequence, e.g.second, fifth.

orthography(a): correct or accepted use of the written

characters of a language.

paradigm(aaa): table setting out the system of inflection of a

word.

paronym(a): a word which may be confused with another to

which it is close in sound, written form and possibly meaning, andwhich may be of similar origin, e.g. principal/principle. In this

book the term is used in a broad sense to include all easily confused

words, even those of quite different origin, e.g.e,e(3.4).participle(ae): a verb form that combines both the qualities

of a verb (e.g. transitiveness or intransitiveness, active or passive

meaning, tense and aspect, but not person) and the qualities of a

noun (e.g. gender, case and number). Russian has present and past

active participles and present and past passive participles

(9.7.39.7.6,11.11.211.11.4).passive voice(aae a): the form of a verb which

indicates that the subject suffered the action, i.e. was not itself the

agent, e.g.Iwas hitby a stone, They were taughtFrench by their mother.perfective aspect(ee ): describes an action restricted

in its extent and thus presents it as complete; perfectives relate to the

beginning of an action (e.g.aee,to start to ring), the limitedduration of an action (e.g.e,to sit for a while), or thecompletion of an action (e.g.,to drink up)(11.5); cf.imperfective aspect.

periphrasis(eaa): complicated, round-about expression, useof more words than is strictly speaking necessary, e.g.in this day and

age.

person(): form of the verb which represents: (a) the

person/persons or thing/things speaking (i.e. 1st pers, e.g.I/weread); (b) the person/persons or thing/things spoken to (i.e. 2ndpers, e.g.you read); or (c) the person/persons or thing/thingsspoken about (i.e. 3rd pers, e.g.he/she reads, they read).

phrase(aa): group of words lacking a finite verb but felt to express

a single idea or to constitute a discrete element in a sentence.

plosive(): consonant sound produced by momentary

stoppage of the air passage at some point, e.g. Russbandp(labial

plosives), dandt(dental plosives),gandk(velar plosives); also

sometimes called an occlusive() or a stop.

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predicate(aee): word or group of words which says sth about

the subject, e.g.I amstudying languages; Catscatch mice. A verb isgenerally the chief part of the predicate.

predicative adjective(eae aaee): adjective

that forms part of the predicate, i.e. which is separated from the

noun it qualifies by some part of the verbto beor, in Russian, bypart of the verbto bethat is understood, e.g.The book wasinteresting, a aeea.

prefix(aa): element added to the beginning of a word to

modify its meaning, e.g.predetermine,(8.38.5).preposition(e): word that defines the relation of a noun or

pronoun to some other word, e.g.The book is on the table; I wentacrossthe road; A plane flewoverthe houses(Chapter10).

prepositional case(e ae): case used after certain

prepositions when they have certain meanings (9.1.2,9.1.5,9.1.8,

10.1.6,10.3.5,11.1.11);see alsolocative case.present perfect continuous: the tense which in English indicates

that an action begun in the past is still continuing, e.g.Ihave beenlivinghere for three years. In Russian this tense must be rendered byan imperfective verb in the present tense (11.6).

pretonic syllable(ea ): the syllable before the stress,

e.g. Ma.

pronoun(eee): word used instead of a noun, e.g.he,she(9.2,11.2).

prosthetic(alsoprothetic; ee): sound inserted at thebeginning of a word for ease of pronunciation, e.g. the soundninae(9.2).

proverb(a): short familiar sentence expressing a

supposed truth or moral lesson, e.g.Every cloud has a silver lining

(5.8).

register(): a variety of language determined by such factors as

medium, subject-matter, purpose and situation (1.21.4,1.6).

relative pronoun(ee eee): a word which

introduces a subordinate clause describing a preceding noun or

pronoun (the antecedent), e.g. Engwho,which, Russ, e.g.The manwho sells newspapers; The tablewhichI bought yesterday(11.2.1).

reported speech: see indirect speech.

root(e): the base of a word which bears its fundamental

meaning, e.g.in,a, a, etc.secondary stress(eee aee): in long words,

especially compound words, a syllable other than the main stressed

syllable which may also need to be pronounced with additional

force. Secondary stress is marked in this book by a grave accent, e.g.

ea.semantic(eae): relating to meaning.

sentence(eee): minimum complete utterance, e.g.I told

him; Come back!

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short form(of adjective; aa a): the truncated masculine,

feminine, neuter and plural forms, e.g.,a,,,which in modern Russian are indeclinable and which may only be

used predicatively (9.3.2,11.3); see alsopredicative adjective.

simile(aee): rhetorical likening of a thing to sth else, e.g.drunk

as a lord, like a bolt from the blue(5.9).Slavonicism(a): a form ofOld Church Slavonic(q.v.)

origin. Many Slavonicisms exist in Russian alongside East Slav

forms. They are characterised by (a) certain phonetic features,

notably (with the Slavonicism first in each pair):a/,a/, ea/eea,aee/,a/a,aa/a, /ea,e/,/); (b) certain prefixes, e.g.a(cf.a),ea,ee(cf.ee),ee(cf.ee),eee(cf.eea); () certain suffixes, e.g.eee,e, , a, , ee, (cf.), ae, a. Slavonicisms tend to have amore bookish flavour than related Russian forms of East Slav origin

and tend to occur in more elevated varieties of language.

soft sign( a): the letter, the function of which is toindicate that the preceding consonant is soft. The soft sign is

normally transliterated by the symbol or by an apostrophe.

stress(aee): in all Russian words of more than one syllable, as in

such English words, one syllable is pronounced with more force

than the other(s). This stress is marked in this book, as in mosttextbooks, by an acute accent, but it is not normally indicated in

Russian publications. Russian stress patterns (Chapter12)are

numerous and complex.

stump-compound(aeaa): word compounded of segments

of other words, e.g.ea(ee a,terrorist act).subject(eaee): the agent performing the action expressed by

the verb in an active sentence, or the person on whom or the thing

on which the action of a passive sentence is performed, e.g.The

priestdelivered a sermon; Wesaw the queen;The manwas struck by

lightning.subjunctive mood(aaee aee): the verbal mood

which indicates that the action or state denoted by the verb in

question is regarded as hypothetical or subject to another action or

state, e.g.I wish hewereright; I demand that itbe done(11.10).subordinate clause(ae eee): clause which

cannot function as a sentence in its own right but is dependent on

another clause which can, e.g.I think[main clause]that she is nice[subordinate clause];I like the house[main clause]which you havebought[subordinate clause];I went to bed[main clause]because itwas late[subordinate clause].

subordinating conjunction(e ): conjunction

introducing a subordinate clause, e.g.although, after, because

(11.12.211.12.3).

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substantivised adjective(aae aaee):

word which has adjectival form but is used as a noun, e.g.ee,ice-cream;a,dining-room.

suffix(): element added to the end of a root or stem to

modify its use or meaning, e.g.writer, happiness(8.78.11).

syntax(a): grammatical structure in a sentence, or study ofthat structure.

tense(e): verbal form indicating whether the action or state

denoted by the verb is viewed as past, present or future.

transitive verb(ee a): verb that requires a direct

object, e.g.Iboughta car(4.4,11.8).tsokane(ae): loss of distinction between the affricates (q.v.)c

andc. Inhard(e)aethe standard soft hushing affricatec is replaced by a hard hissing affricatec, e.g.c udo(). Insoft(e) aec is replaced by a soft hissingc, e.g.c udo.

velar(ae): consonant sound produced by raising the backof the top of the tongue against the soft palate (); in Russian

the soundsg, k, x.

vocative case(ae ae): case used in direct personal

address; now defunct in Russian, except in relics such aseandand in certain colloquial forms in the spoken language (see7.3.1). (The vocative survives in other Slavonic languages, e.g.

Czech, Polish, Serbo-Croat.)

voiced consonant( a): consonant produced with

the vocal cords vibrating, e.g. Russianb, v, g, d, z, z; see alsovoiceless consonant.

voiceless consonant( a): consonant produced

without vibration of the vocal cords, e.g. Russianp, f, k, t, s, s, x,

c, c, ss .

vowel(a): sound produced by passage of air through mouth

without obstruction of the airstream, e.g.a,e,i,o,u.word-formation(aae): formation of new words by

combining roots and affixes or by other means; also the study of the

structure of words and the laws of their formation in a language

(Chapter8).zero ending(ee ae): ending of a Russian noun in an

oblique case in which no inflection is present e.g.a,soldier(which is genitive plural as well as nominative singular);(gen pl;

nom sgea,wife); e(gen pl; nom sge,place).

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List of abbreviations

acc accusative

act active

adj adjective

adv adverb

agric agricultural

biol biological

C Central

col column

collect collective

conj conjunctionD demotic

dat dative

dimin diminutive

E East

econ economic

Eng English

esp especially

f femininefig figurative

fin financial

Fr French

fut future

gen genitive

geog geographical

geol geological

Ger German

gram grammatical

imp imperativeimpers impersonal

impf imperfective

incl including

indecl indeclinable

infin infinitive

instr instrumental

iron ironical

lit literally

loc locative

m masculine

math mathematical

med medical

mil military

mus musical

N North

n neuter

NE North-East

nom nominative

non-refl non-reflexive

NW North-Westobs obsolete

OCS Old Church

Slavonic

offic official

part participle

pass passive

pej pejorative

pers person

pf perfectivephil philosophical

pl plural

poet poetic

pol political

prep prepositional

pres present

R register

refl reflexive

rhet rhetorical

Russ Russiansb somebody

SE South-East

sg singular

Sp Spanish

sth something

subst substantivised

SW South-West

tech technical

theat theatrical

vulg vulgar

The Russian particle -is frequently abbreviated to -.

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1 Varieties of language and register

1.1 The Russian language and its distribution

The Russian language belongs to the East Slav group of languages,

itself part of the Slavonic branch of the Indo-European family. The

relationship of Russian to the other modern European languages is

illustrated by Figure1(which includes only languages still used by

substantial numbers of speakers).

It is difficult to give accurate up-to-date figures for the number of

people for whom Russian is their native or first language, or at least

their first language for some purpose or purposes (e.g. professional orsocial). This difficulty arises for several reasons. Firstly, we are dealing

with several different categories of user, including the following: ethnic

Russians who are citizens of the Russian Federation; ethnic Russians

who are citizens of other former republics of the Soviet Union;

members of other ethnic groups who are citizens of the Russian

Federation; and members of other ethnic groups who are citizens of

other former republics of the Soviet Union but who continue to use

Russian at work or at home, perhaps because their community or

family is mainly Russian-speaking. It is not always easy to define

whether Russian is the first or second language of at least the latter twogroups. Secondly, there has been much migration between the regions

and states of the former Soviet Union since the collapse of the Union

in 1991, with the result that numbers and proportions of ethnic

Russians or other speakers of Russian in each former republic may

have changed significantly over the last thirteen years. Thirdly,

considerable numbers of both ethnic Russians and members of

non-Russian ethnic groups who grew up in Russia or the Soviet

Union using Russian as their first language have in the same period

emigrated from the Russian Federation to countries outside the

former Soviet Union. The number of Jews in the Russian Federation,

for example, fell from roughly 540,000 in 1989 to 230,000 in 2002 and

the number of Russian Germans has declined over the same period

from 840,000 to 600,000. It is difficult to determine how many

emigres continue to use Russian as their first language, or for how

long they do so, after their emigration.

The most easily quantifiable group of Russian-speakers, of course, is

the citizenry of the Russian Federation, of which Russian is the official

language. According to the census of the Russian Federation carried

out in2002, the population of the Federation was a little over 145million,1 of whom some 116 million (i.e. almost 80 per cent) describe

themselves as ethnically Russian.

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German

ic

WestGerma

nic

NorthGermanic

WestSlavonic

SouthSlavonic

EastS

lavonic

Romance

Celt

ic

Ba

ltic

Slavon

ic

Other

English

German

Dutch

Flemish

Danish

Swedish

Norwegian

Icelandic

French

Spanish

Portuguese

Italian

Romanian

Irish

We

lsh

Bre

ton

Latvian

Lithuanian

Gree

k

Alba

nian

Arm

enian

Czech

Slovak

Polish

Serbo-Croat

Slovene

Bulgarian

Macedonian

Russian

Bela

rusian

(i.e.

Belorussian,

WhiteRussian)

Ukrainian

Fig

.1

.

Th

eIn

do-E

uropean

languages


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Among the remaining 20 per cent, or approximately 29 million, of

the population of the Russian Federation (many of whom will also

consider Russian their first language) 160 nationalities were

represented, according to the 2002 census. The largest of these

non-Russian groups, in descending order, were Tatars (of whom there

were over five million), Ukrainians (almost three million, althoughtheir number in the Russian Federation has been decreasing), Bashkirs

and Chuvashes (over a million each), and Chechens and Armenians

(also over a million each, and their numbers in the Russian Federation

have been increasing). Figure2shows the composition of the

population of the Russian Federation by ethnic group, as revealed by

the 2002 census.

Of the non-Russian citizens of the Federation the Ukrainians and

Belorussians (whose numbers in the Russian Federation have also been

decreasing) are ethnically close to the Russians. Their languages (i.e.

Ukrainian and Belorussian respectively) are closely related to Russian,which Ukrainians and Belorussians are likely also to speak with native

or near-native facility. However, many of the non-Russian citizens of

the Russian Federation (e.g. Estonians, Kazakhs, Latvians) belong to

quite different ethnic groups from the Russians, including

non-European groups. They may therefore speak a language that is

only distantly related to Russian (e.g. Latvian, which is also

Indo-European) or that belongs to a different linguistic group (e.g.

Estonian, whichisa Finno-Ugric language, or Kazakh, which is a

Turkic language).

2

These non-Russian citizens of the Federation havevarying degrees of command of Russian. A substantial number of them

consider Russian their first language.

It needs to be borne in mind, incidentally, that different Russian

terms are used to denote the different types of Russian who have

been identified in the preceding paragraphs. The substantivised

adjective(fa) denotes a person who is ethnically

Russian. Used as an adjective, this word also denotes the Russian

language ( ). The noun(fa), on the

other hand, conveys the broader concept of a person who is a citizen

of the Russian Federation but who is not necessarily ethnicallyRussian. The adjectivehas a correspondingly broader

sense than the adjective, as, for example, in the name of the

country itself (Paeea), which denotes a political

rather than an ethnic, linguistic or cultural entity.

The numbers of ethnic Russian and non-Russian speakers of

Russian outside the Russian Federation are more difficult to quantify.

Some idea of their number can be gauged from the fact that at the

time of the 1989 census (the last census carried out in the Soviet era)

there were 25 million ethnic Russians living in other republics of the

Soviet Union (see6.11.1for a list of these republics), the majority of

them in Ukraine. Moreover, since Russian was used as a second

language throughout the non-Russian areas of the Union, whose total

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Fig

.2

.

Po

pu

lationo

fth

eR

uss

ian

Fed

era

tion

by

ethn

icg

roup

,acc

ord

ing

tothe

2002

census


41/528


population in 1989 was 287 million, one may assume that the language

was used as a first or second language by at least a further 50 million

Soviet citizens. However, the status of the Russian language is now

diminishing in the former Soviet republics in proportion as the

languages of the ethnic groups that are dominant in the new states (e.g.

Kazakhs in Kazakhstan) are promoted, particularly within theeducational system. Admittedly Russian remains a lingua franca for

commercial and diplomatic transactions in the former Soviet republics,

especially among the older generation of speakers who were educated

in Soviet times, when Russian was the dominant language throughout

the Union. On the other hand, the rise of English as the language of

global communication, and therefore the first foreign language to be

taught in schools, may further weaken the status of Russian outside the

Russian Federation. One may predict that in twenty or thirty years

Russian will be less widely spoken in the former Soviet republics than

it is today, especially in those countries with a relatively small residualethnic Russian population (e.g. Lithuania). It is also possible that many

people who do speak Russian in those countries will use it less than

they do today and that they will have a poorer command of it than

non-Russians who speak Russian there now.

Russian is of course also spoken, with varying degrees of fluency,

accuracy and proximity to the Russian now spoken in Russia itself, by

manyemigres or their descendants in countries outside the former

Soviet Union. Russians, or members of other ethnic groups who were

formerly Soviet citizens, have left the Soviet Union or not returnedto it at four main periods in the last ninety years or so: in the years

immediately or soon after the Bolshevik revolution of 1917; after the

Second World War (193945), following their displacement; in the

Brezhnev period (especially in the 1970s, after the granting of

permission to Jews to leave the country); and from the mid-1980s,

following the further relaxation of emigration controls. The principal

destinations of these emigrants, at one time or another, have been

France, Germany, Britain, the US and Israel. Many members of the

Russian diaspora are permanently settled abroad but some mainly

more recentemigres are only temporarily resident outside Russia,perhaps because they are working or studying abroad.

Russian is also spoken by millions of people as a foreign language,

especially people from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe

who received all or most of their higher education in the Soviet

Union. Moreover, Russian has been widely taught outside Russia

since the Second World War, particularly when the Soviet Union was

at its most powerful from the 1960s to the1980s. Organisations such as

the International Association of Teachers of the Russian Language and

Literature (Meaa aa eaaee

a orMAP) were set up in the Soviet period to support suchactivity. However, the number of foreigners learning Russian

(estimated at some 20 million in 1979) has diminished in the

5


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post-Soviet period, following the demise of Russian hegemony in the

Eastern bloc countries (East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia,

Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria) and the weakening of Russian

influence in various states in other parts of the world (e.g. Cuba,

Angola, Ethiopia, North Yemen and Vietnam).

It should be added, finally, that Russian is one of the official andworking languages of the United Nations and UNESCO.

Although Russian is thus widely distributed, and although it is also

the language in which one of the worlds great bodies of imaginative

literature has been created over the last two and a half centuries, it is

with the varieties of Russian that are spoken by ethnic Russians in

Russia today that this book is primarily concerned.

1.2 Varieties of language

The student learning a foreign language in a systematic way willgenerally study a form of it, or the single form of it, which educated

native speakers consider normative, e.g. BBC English, Parisian

French, Tuscan Italian, Mandarin or Cantonese. In the case of Russian

this normative form is what Russians refer to as the literary language

(ea ). However, the term literary language suggests

to an English-speaker exclusively the written language, and the

expression standard Russian is therefore preferred in this book.

Standard Russian embraces the spoken language of educated people as

well as the written language, and its spoken form is based on educatedMuscovite speech.

Study of the normative form of a language should inculcate a

standard pronunciation and vocabulary and correct grammatical rules.

It is essential that the foreign student absorb such a norm both in order

that he or she should be able to communica

derek offord using russian a guide to contemporary usage 2005

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